


Offer Up Your Heart

by rs29 (jewkiller99)



Category: Haikyuu!!, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, F/F, M/M, No Titan Shifters, and i'm not sure where in snk this is happening, at least not for now, basically it's just the haikyuu characters, except instead of volleyball, i took some liberties with the snk universe, idk - Freeform, it's titan killing, there aren't any snk characters, yea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 20:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4801580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewkiller99/pseuds/rs29
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 850.<br/>Humankind is nearly extinct, and living behind walls.<br/>There is no hope in their world.<br/>Soldiers go outside to fight, but none return alive.<br/>Or at least, no one is uninjured is some way.<br/>Everything is going only downhill.<br/>Enter: The 94th Trainee Corps led by the greatest soldier of all time, or at least the #1 of his year, Kageyama Tobio .</p>
            </blockquote>





	Offer Up Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> So I took some liberties with the SnK universe, it might not seem exactly like the show, but there's a point to that I promise. Also for now there isn't any Titan shifting, but who knows, maybe when I write the second part I won't be as lazy and incorporate some actual plot into this.  
> Maybe.  
> Also this fic is a brainchild born when I saw this beautiful artwork on tumblr, and it just inspired me a lot to try and write this. 
> 
>  
> 
> http://wallatile-qvibbler.tumblr.com/post/123663613755/shouco-minto-im-re-watching-snk-with-my-parents

...

Tsukishima leans just slightly to the side on his gear. His legs are completely still, and he is hanging unobstructed on the 3D maneuver gear. 

He can see Yamaguchi next to him, struggling to stay upright, and Instructor Shimada trying to coach him into staying balanced. 

A turn to his right shows Yachi upside down, swinging hopelessly to become upright. A little further on his right is sight that just makes him want to sigh, Hinata and Kageyama are going at it again. 

He can just barely hear the words they are shouting at each other. Something about Hinata having no capabilities on the gear, and Kageyama being a smartass yet again. 

So in short, it was the same old thing again. 

Ten minutes later when Hinata is swearing and hanging upside down, and Instructor Takinoue comes over to yell at the two of them, Tsukishima can barely suppress the urge to laugh. 

…

“I’m going to fight the Titans! I’m going to go outside the walls with the Survey Corps and fight like Humanity’s Strongest Soldier! ” Hinata is very forward person, and he can’t hide that here. He is surrounded by the future soldiers, and they scoff at him, and his dreams. 

He knows it’s pointless, that the Titans have always existed, but he wants to live without the fear of the Titans. 

“Humanity should see the world, see its wonders and live beyond the walls. I won’t let them steal our freedom! I want to fight them and drive them off! I don’t want to die inside these suffocating walls!” Hinata is breathing heavily by the end of his spiel, and he looks up at Kageyama defiantly.

It has been six months already, since training started. Kageyama has excelled in every part of it, rising high above Hinata, and looking down on him because of it.

It is nighttime, and they coincidently happened to have both sneaked out to run. Hinata hates Kageyama, hates how perfect he seems to be, how he looks down on them, how he doesn’t seem to care about their freedom, aspiring only to join the Military Police. 

“I’m going to join the Survey Corps. I’m going to be like Humanity’s Strongest and fight the Titans.” Hinata says after the both of them stayed silent for a moment. 

Kageyama looks surprised, he isn’t even wearing his trademark frown. Hinata thinks he has a right to be, after all he has only told the rest of the soldiers of his dreams to kill the Titans. He never shared this other part of him, the part that wants to escape the walls. 

“Alright.” Kageyama says after what seems like an eternity. 

“What?” Hinata tilts his head in confusion, was that all he had to say?

“Alright. I’ll help you.” Kageyama says again, looking more self-assured this time. 

“What?!” Hinata is still confused, what on Earth was Kageyama talking about?

“I’ll help you.” Kageyama repeats, “I’ll go outside these walls to kill the Titans. We can drive them off together, and live outside the walls.” 

He then takes Hinata’s hand, and it is clasped between them. They are not quite holding hands, their fingers are not intertwined, but instead Kageyama’s palm is angled on his and his fingers are holding the back of his hand. 

“As long as I’m there, you’ll be invincible.” Hinata is shocked, his mouth is hanging open, and he wonders if his speech was really that powerful. 

He looks at Kageyama who is staring at him, and thinks, that it was. 

The next morning they’re a bit friendlier than they were before, despite still taking every possible opportunity to argue with each other. 

…

“Come on, faster!” Kageyama yells, as the two of them trudge up the snowy hill. 

They had left the rest of the class behind, and Hinata stands still, with the snow up to his knees. His lips are cold, too cold to even move, and his legs cannot keep going through all this snow. 

Despite all this he still is trying to walk, urging his legs to just move a couple more steps. His hands are balled up, and he feels furious at his own shortcomings. 

They have been training for two years already, and Hinata, despite all their arguing, has come to regard Kageyama as his closest friend. 

Kageyama has stopped as well, and they are standing there in silence before he turns around and walks back to Hinata. 

“Come on dumbass, get moving.” The words, though they may seem crass and unkind, are something else altogether. 

Hinata tries to find his words, to say something, but is shocked into silence when he feels his hand being taken. 

Their hands are clasped in between them, and Kageyama says quietly, “Don’t worry moron Hinata, as long as I’m around, you’re invincible.” 

…

"Squad Fukurodani is led by Lieutenant Akaashi Keiji and includes Bokuto Kotaro." Yachi tells them, during dinner one day.

It's the three of them only that night, and Hinata had been bugging Yachi for her information on the Survey Corps and she had already given in. 

All three of them had already decided to join the Survey Corps and the fact they picked the same future branch of the military, they had begun to talk and hang out more as a group. 

"Kotaro is one of the best soldiers in the century!! He has 35 solo kills!! And he's assisted in at least twice that number! He's the powerhouse of the legion!" Hinata exclaims, Bokuto was someone he had always looked up to. 

"And then Squad Leader Tanaka leads her squad consisting of one of the fastest soldiers in Corps, Yuu Nishinoya. She’s been in the army for a long time, and she’s still fighting strong!” Yachi talks about one of her role models, because Saeko Tanaka is simply amazing. 

"There are four squads right? There's Squad Fukurodani and Squad Tanaka but I can't remember the others." Hinata tells them both and Kageyama answers, " Shimizu and Nekoma." 

Due to the fact he gave no elaboration on his words, Yachi took it upon herself to explain the amazingness that is Kiyoko Shimizu, and she can probably talk about the other squad some. 

"Kiyoko Shimizu has the only served for six years but already she's known as one of the most beautiful and strongest soldiers in the Corps! Her passion for the Titans rivals none and she's one of the leading scientists in the military! Her Titan solo kills are apparently both beautiful to watch but deadly to the Titan. She's got 31 recorded kills!" Yachi exclaims while Hinata looks both excited and impressed. 

He makes a sound of wonder before asking about the other squad, Nekoma. 

"Tetsuro Kuroo is one of the most clever strategists on the Corps, he is credited most for his battle plans but his prowess in the field should not be underestimated as he rounds up a good 33 solo kills." Yachi's mother worked in a small part of government, dealing with the military branches, and her bedtime stories consisted of only the strongest soldiers. Due to this, she knew more about the military, or at least the people in it, than the rest of the trainees. 

She also had paid more attention to the stories about Shimuzu, and hoped one day, despite her paranoia and anxiety, she'll be able to fight alongside her role model. 

…

“HINATA! KAGEYAMA! TWENTY LAPS NOW!” Takinoue yells at them, obviously noticing that they’ve stopped listening in favor of whispering insults to each other. 

“As I was saying, 3D maneuver gear is tricky to master, but there are several techniques..” Instructor Shimada continues speaking, after the other instructor interrupted him. 

The two of them set off at a steady pace, but Kageyama passes Hinata, and there is a small smirk on his face as he does. Hinata, taking this, as he does for every little thing, as a challenge, begins to speed up. 

In less than thirty seconds, the two of them have started actively going at their fastest pace, racing against each other. 

They have set aside vocal insults for the moment, relying on their physical stamina and speed to speak for them. 

Most of the remaining trainees have stopped listening, favoring instead to watch the two of them race around the track.

The once-a-week race/punishment is a small source of entertainment for the rest during one of Shimada’s boring as hell lectures. 

Their twentieth lap finishes with them panting heavily, but Hinata raises head and says in between breaths, “I win.”

“No you didn’t! I was clearly two centimeters ahead of you!” Kageyama stands up straight, prepared to defend his status as winner. 

“Stupid Kageyama! My foot touched the line way before yours!” 

“No it didn’t dumbass!” 

“Actually, Kageyama is right in this instance. The score is currently 12-9 in Kageyama’s favor.” Yachi whips out a tiny notepad she has been using to record the scores for the past five months, and makes a tiny note for Kageyama’s win. 

Predictably, Instructor Takinoue explodes yet again, and all three of them have been assigned to dishwashing duty for the next three weeks. 

…

When the colossal Titan appears, they are not ready. 

His eyes are just imperceptibly wide under his glasses, but it’s not noticeable. The Titans are entering through the hole in the wall faster than Tsukishima can handle. He shouts at Yamaguchi and Yachi to move farther back. 

Hinata is all over the place, not quite managing to kill any Titans and Tsukishima wonders where all the aptitude he displayed in training went. 

It was probably taken by the Titans. 

He lands on a roof and propels himself up to kill the Titans near Hinata, because he doesn’t quite think the orange-haired soldier can take on a Titan in his frenzied state. 

He crosses over to Yamaguchi, who is only staring at a Titan, and yells out to his friend as he twists himself in midair to get to the nape of the Titan. 

They are the vanguard, well technically everyone but Kageyama is the vanguard. Kageyama who is launching himself past Tsukishima, and towards another Titan. 

He yells that they have finished evacuating the citizens, and Tsukishima knows that they have finished their mission. 

The only challenge now is to survive until they can get to the inner wall. 

…

“Oh shit.” 

Hinata is over, this is it for him. He’s gonna die here, and it’ll be over. 

Tsukishima is laughing loudly, and Yamaguchi is snickering behind his remaining hand, but Hinata doesn’t see any of that. Kageyama lands on the roof, hard, and stands. Hinata is completely frozen. 

No, the Titans surrounding him aren’t going to kill him, the soldier in front of him will. 

Kageyama turns slowly and Hinata can just see flames surrounding him. 

They were fighting the Titans, and Hinata wasn’t doing too well, his hands were shaking, and he could barely control his gear. 

And then he had flown straight into Kageyama, his foot hitting Kageyama’s head and both of them falling to the building underneath them.

Kageyama is turning and walking slowly towards him, shadows lining his face. He stands in front of him, tilting his head down to look at him, and Hinata can’t move his legs, but he attempts a smile that he’s sure looks scared as hell.

“Look, why are you so nervous?” He moves down closer to Hinata, and Hinata can only move back, “Is it because you’re battling Titans? Is it because it’s your first battle?” 

Hinata’s face breaks out in sweat as Kageyama brings his hand up behind him, “What’s more frightening than kicking the back of my head?” 

Kageyama’s eyes are staring at him, wide and unblinking, as he hits the back of his own head. 

“Tell me.” 

“Nothing is more frightening.” Hinata manages to choke out. 

Kageyama is repeatedly hitting the back of his head, “Then you have no reason to be nervous anymore right? You’ve already done the most frightening thing.”

“Then start fighting properly, you stupid moron!” Kageyama yells pointing towards the Titans approaching them slowly. He then begins to walk to the edge of the roof.

“Wait, do you mean I got away with that?” Hinata asked, very shocked.

Kageyama says nothing, and Hinata smiles widely. 

He actually got away with that.

His vigor is completely renewed, and he smiles when he jumps off the building.

….

They are still going forward, trying to get to the inner wall, since only then will they live.

Turning his head, Tsukishima sees Yachi unconscious in the hands of a 15-meter and immediately changes course, as do the others. Kageyama and Hinata take down the Titan before any harm comes to Yachi, and Tsukishima extracts her from the already smoking hand of the beast. There is no time to check her for injuries and Tsukishima can only sling her over her shoulder and keep moving. 

He looks behind him to see Yamaguchi, he is yelling something at him, but he cannot hear, because all he can see is the giant Titan looming behind him.

He tries to shout to Yamaguchi, to warn him, and his eyes go even wider as he sees one of Yamaguchi’s arms enter the mouth of the Titan, in midair. 

He stops in his tracks, not focusing on the order of his gear or to keep steady and latches onto the forehead of the offending Titan, and urges his gas to go faster, faster, faster!

Barely he makes it, and grabs Yamaguchi’s other hand, pulling him out of harm’s way, and dropping him to the closest roof. 

Thankfully it was one of the last Titan’s in the vicinity, and Kageyama and Hinata go down on it, and Tsukishima can only marvel at their skill in the field. 

But there are more immediate problems. Specifically, his two injured squad members. 

….

Taking down a Titan for the first time is exhilarating. 

Hinata is scared, for sure, he does not want to die today, but the feeling of destroying these monsters makes him energized.

They work as a team, him and Kageyama. Kageyama goes through and takes out vital joints, such as the ankles, the knees, and the arms, and Hinata stands in the back ready to take out a slice of the neck. 

There are only milliseconds separating Kageyama’s frontal assault, and then Hinata’s final hit. Hinata feels empowered like this, he feels invincible. 

Even when Yachi is knocked out and and Yamaguchi has lost his arm, he feels good almost. 

He is arguing with Kageyama, who got the most kills, since Kageyama did kill a few of the Titans by himself.

By now arguing is the norm for them, and really, Hinata is happy that they are all still alive. It takes only a few minutes for Tsukishima, their resident master in strategy, to snap them out of their argument, and they gather around him, ready to hear how they are going to leave this district alive

...

Kageyama and Hinata took out the Titans near the building they were standing on, and they try to formulate some sort of plan. They are the top ten in their class, but they've already suffered injuries. 

Yamaguchi's arm is gone and Yachi is unconscious, both are being supported by Tsukishima. 

"Maybe if we made it to the gate, the Garrison would let us over the wall?" Hinata suggests, as they are at a loss of what to do.

"How do you propose we get over there, huh?" Kageyama mutters as he scans the area for any incoming Titans. We've got two incapacitated soldiers and not enough gas between us. Think before you speak, moron." 

Things delve into an argument quickly and Tsukishima is actually impressed on how they are able argue like normal in this situation. 

But the arguing doesn't help them and time is slowly running out. Tsukishima sees some Garrison soldiers go down around 40 meters away, and a plan quickly begins to form in his head. 

"All of you, shut up!" Tsukishima yells at the arguing pair and the feebly apologizing Yamaguchi propped up against his legs. 

"Do you see over there? The three ten-meters. There were a few soldiers there just now, who went down." The rest of them are looking at him, awaiting his plan, and Tsukishima wonders how he was appointed leader of their pitiful group.

"How much gas do you have?" He directs this question towards Hinata and Kageyama, and their answers are enough for him to think that they have some hope after all. He relays the rest of the plan to them, and they prepare to put it into action.

"Tsukki, just leave me behind, I'll slow you guys down." Yamaguchi is crying still, and Tsukishima decides to reply to him, despite the time that they are wasting. 

"No one gets left behind. Not here, not today." Tsukishima's tone warns him to leave it at that and a still crying Yamaguchi does.

He hefts Yachi over his shoulder, and Yamaguchi over his other one. Tsukishima keeps one hand on Yachi's back but counts on Yamaguchi using his remaining arm to secure himself.

Tsukishima does at least need one arm free to maneuver. 

He nods at Hinata and Kageyama, who both then launch themselves through the air, and Tsukishima follows, as fast as he can while not dropping any of his friends. 

He is almost out of gas, and is running on barely fumes. Barely, he manages to reach his goal and rolls on the ground, not having enough gas to perform a clean landing.

He can see Hinata and Kageyama whirring through the air, and he takes just a millisecond to marvel and their speed before getting back to the task at hand. 

There are several bodies in the area, and Tsukishima makes quick work of removing their canisters, not letting the stench of blood get to him. 

The dynamic duo themselves land a few feet from him, and they also begin to strip canisters from the corpses. 

His hands shake when he hears a someone scream in the distance, and he can see Hinata wince.

They work quick, and are done within a few minutes. 

"Now, straight to the supply building. No stopping. If a Titan comes, don't take the time to fight it, just go. Get it, king?" He looks pointedly at Kageyama, because they cannot afford to waste their time fighting every Titan they see. 

Kageyama glares at him, but nonetheless accepts the orders. 

Tsukishima positions Yachi and Yamaguchi on his shoulders once again, and then they are off.

He stares at the two people ahead of him, who have started to yell at each other in midair, and wonders why it was him who had to end up with this group.

...

It is exhilarating, Hinata thinks, to fly through the air, with the threat of danger all around. 

His friends are not dead, they are alive, he is alive.

Hinata cannot ever forget the feeling of killing a Titan with Kageyama, the thrill of the slicing of his knives, the familiar motions he learned being put into use. 

They are a solid team, him and Kageyama. Kageyama circles the Titan, cutting off important joints and Hinata goes straight in for the neck while the Titan is distracting. 

They managed to bring down their last one in less than thirty seconds. 

"Stop smiling, dumbass Hinata!" Kageyama, with his ever present frown, yells. 

Hinata gives a derogatory yell back at him, and devolve back into their state of arguing once again, and never once does Hinata stops smiling. 

They're almost there, going fast enough to pass through right under several Titan's noses. 

The windows are right in front of his face and they crash through in unison, and hit the floor in a less than graceful way. Tsukishima flies through the whole they left, and lands on his feet, but drops to his knees. 

There is blood covering his back and his legs, and Hinata is concerned about the lack of color in Yamaguchi's face. 

He kneels by his side, as Kageyama charges forward towards something. 

Kageyama grabs a soldier, hiding under a desk and holds him at eye level by the collar.

A quick questions confirms they are quartermaster corps and Kageyama punches the man, sending him sprawling towards the floor. 

The other girl tries to defend themselves, and both Hinata and Kageyama are glaring at them now. 

Tsukishima rushes pasts them, dragging their two injured friends, his shouts are barely heard, but Kageyama and Hinata run after him. 

The Titan whose face is sticking through the hole in the window, reaches his arm in, and the two quartermaster soldiers are crushed. 

The five of them manage to kill enough Titans to get to the extra gas canisters, and finally, for the first time during the day, all five of them believe that they may actually survive to tell the tale of Trost District. 

…

Their class is not as large as it was, only half of them remain standing in line. 

Major Moniwa is in front of them speaking about the virtues of the Garrison. 

Tsukishima stares at him, impassively, as he remembers him twirling through the air, killing the Titans around him as he rushed towards the inside of Wall Rose. 

His is the last speech of the day, as Lieutenant Akaashi and Captain Shimizu had already talked about Survey Corps, and Officer Oikawa and spoken about Military Police. 

He could go to military police, like he planned. It was his goal anyway, and he could live peacefully inside the walls. He was ranked third, and it would be so easy to just give up fighting Titans. 

They were making decisions now, Yachi, Kageyama, and Hinata joined Survey like they always had discussed, and they looked happy, smiling and arguing as usual.

He could just go to Military Police, but he remembered Yamaguchi lying on a bed in a hospital inside the walls. 

"You saved my life, Tsukki!" He had gushed, and Tsukishima had only arrogantly responded, "Well of course I did." 

Yamaguchi's arm was bitten off right in front of him, he could see in his mind's eye, the sight of his friends about to be devoured. He remembered the feeling of fear and moving to grab Yamaguchi, to save his only friend in the world.

He looked at the three soldiers in Survey Corps, and thought, maybe Yamaguchi wasn't his only friend. 

And with that in mind, he trudged towards Survey Corps, keeping a neutral expression as Kageyama and Hinata made suprised faces, and Yachi squealed and hugged him. 

Maybe, despite all his flaws in personality, he has a few more friends now. 

...

 

Hinata appears out of nowhere, and pulls his arm in a certain direction. Tsukishima is irritated already, his head hurts from all the horseback riding needed to bring the new soldiers out to the headquarters, an abandoned castle. 

He opens his mouth to protest and shake the offending grip on his arm, but before he can, he realizes Hinata has stopped. 

“They’re assigning squads today! I’m so excited I hope I get under Captain Shimizu!” Well that’s very good for him, but Tsukishima wants to know exactly what he’s doing there. “Oh and Commander Ushijima asked me to bring you since the assigning is gonna happen like right now.” 

Well that answers that question, Tsukishima thinks. Hinata has freed him at last and goes to stand by Yachi, the two of them are whispering excitedly. He stands next to Kageyama, on the corner, and cannot help but to mutter under his breath, “I wonder where his Royal Highness is going to give up, maybe they’ll just promote you to squad captain immediately. So you don’t have to deal with us commoners of course.” 

Kageyama’s frown intensifies, as he turns to him probably about to say some dumb comeback, but he doesn’t get that far, since Commander Ushijima has already cleared his throat. 

All the trainees standing in a line straighten immediately, and there is silence. There are about twenty of them, including Tsukishima and his friends. 

Commander Ushijima doesn’t change his facial expression once while speaking to them, and his voice is monotonous, like he is saying lines from a script. Tsukishima really couldn’t care less and instead listens to him talk about his Squad Leaders; Kuroo, Shimizu, Akaashi, and Tanaka. 

He doesn’t show it, but he is listening intently to the Commander’s words, along with the rest of them. 

Ushijima puts him and another trainee, Sakunami in a team led by a soldier named, Kai, who has thick eyebrows, and doesn’t talk much. He looks and sees Hinata is with Yachi, and Kageyama is with another, short dark-haired boy and doesn’t look happy about it all. Well he never does look happy, but he was looking way more furious in this instance. 

Tsukishima turns and sees his new team, the leader is speaking with Kageyama’s team leader, and the other soldiers are just saluting quietly. 

‘Well isn’t this going to be so much fun.’

…

Hinata races Kageyama in the forest, on their gear. It is the first training they have done since they entered the Corps, and the squad leaders and Commander Ushijima are watching them.

Tsukishima is a little behind them, and if Hinata looks back he can see him swinging from one tree to another, extending the cords in a controlled manner, unlike himself and Kageyama. 

Yachi is a little behind them, smiling widely, going as fast as she can, releasing the cords without falling. 

They are mostly ahead of the other trainees, with the exception of Shibayama, who is in time with Tsukishima.

Hinata loves this feeling, the feeling of being free in the air, with nothing to rely on but the gear, shooting out the cords at his own pace, and swinging on them, with the gas propelling him. He grins widely, as he goes faster, trying to catch up to Kageyama who is only a ten centimeters ahead. 

Kageyama, for a change, does not look as angry as he does on the ground, because in the air, like this, they are both free. 

Their landings are less than stellar though, as they get to the pre-setted finishing point, where Vice Commander Takeda is waiting. They hit the ground and roll for a moment, before Hinata jumps up, and yells, “I won that round!” 

As expected, Kageyama rebuffs his claim, and Tsukishima gracefully comes to land besides them. 

“The King got that one, I believe.” He says, looking down on them both through his goggles. 

Hinata acts smug as Inuoka and Yachi land on the ground, more graceful than himself, but Yachi did stumble a little. 

“If this is for Kageyama, The score should be 498-497, in Hinata’s favor.” Yachi recalls, thinking of her little notepad back in the castle. Inuoka looks a little awkward, and Tsukishima just sighs.

The Vice Commander laughs a little, and all the trainees stand to attention, quickly going into a salute. The rest of the trainees land about then, and they also immediately salute on arrival. 

Takeda looks amused as finally the Squad Leaders, and Ushijima arrive on the ground. 

Ushijima gives them a speech on how he was impressed with their skill. He looks a little pointedly in Hinata and Kageyama’s direction as he talks about their speed, and they flush while Tsukishima gives an annoying little snicker under his breath. 

None of the four of them notice Squad Leaders Kuroo and Shimizu looking in their directions.

…

The days are spent training for their first beyond-the-walls expedition in two months. Hinata and his friends are the only ones who have actually seen and gone up against Titans in their little group and are often asked questions about them. Hinata usually takes this as a chance to start raving about their little Trost mishap and like to humorously reenact scenes from the battle. Yachi usually gives him a hand, but Kageyama just glances in their direction, unimpressed, and Tsukishima gets annoyed when people ask him about it, and people learn quickly not to go to him with any questions. 

“And then it appeared, huge and giant, almost 15 meters tall! And of course I went in, flying to kill it with my tremendous speed. And Kageyama went all gwaaaa on its legs and eyes and-.” 

He focuses more on his own achievements that day, praising himself and Kageyama’s speed and reflexes, and mentions how Tsukishima’s plans saved them all several times. He chooses not to mention how Yachi was knocked unconscious in the first ten minutes of the attack, prompting Kageyama having to go in to rescue her, and doesn’t talk about Yamaguchi’s arm at all, instead Yamaguchi is just the brave fifth member of their little team. 

Some of the older, more experienced soldiers listen to Hinata too, laughing, but others are angry at how Hinata is making light of the Titans, many of whom have devoured their friends. 

Hinata understands that, he does, but it's his job to keep spirits light. And besides, he does enjoy the attention. 

…

 

Shimizu is completely expressionless as they are called to a meeting with Commander Ushijima. Takeda is there as well, and each of the squad leaders have brought their second-in-commands. 

They are a small but ferocious branch of the army. They do not have the numbers of Garrison, and most of the top ten trainees end up in Military Police, but their experience gives them power. 

They are the ones who actively fight the Titans, after all. 

The meeting is fairly standard, planning out the next expedition, and despite its dullness, Shimizu listens with rapt attention. 

There is nothing different about this time, they will ride out, people will die, and they will ride back. There will be failure and death in the end after all. 

…

Today is the day, Hinata thinks, when he wakes up in the morning. He could barely sleep at all the last night, too excited at the thought of leaving the walls for the first time. 

He can barely get his clothes on fast enough, putting on the white pants and shirt, and then pulling the long boots up his feet and throwing on his tan jacket with the insignia of the Survey Corps on the back. They’re scheduled to leave right after breakfast, and so Hinata only holds his green cloak in his hands until it is time to leave.

Breakfast is a fun affair, the trainees are excited, everyone is looking forward to the first expedition beyond the walls. Their team leaders had explained everything to them already, weeks ago. The main reason for the expedition was to head to a forest about a day’s ride from here, and lure a Titan into the forest and capture it, for science.

Takeda and Shimizu were the leading scientists in the Survey Corps, and Hinata heard that this same expedition is being repeated for the third time because of failures in the last tries.

Hinata’s team is riding on the perimeter, south flank, while Kageyama and Tsukishima were both stationed in the middle west. 

Hinata is slightly worried about going up against a Titan without Kageyama, since he doesn’t have that much experience yet, but relieves himself of the fear because he knows he can trust his team to look out for him.

He doesn’t let himself entertain the thought that he may never eat a meal in this castle again, that his friends may not survive the expedition. 

There will be losses, Hinata knows, but he stubbornly refuses to believe that any of those losses will affect him.

…

Tsukishima wonders how many people are going to be in this castle in a week. Many of them are going to die, he knows, when they go outside later today, killed by the Titans.

He looks at Yachi and Sakunami are laughing, Hinata and Inuoka excitedly speaking together, Shibayama awkwardly smiling next to them, and Kageyama staring at them unimpressed, but Tsukishima can see the happiness in his eyes. 

They are all excited of course, including Tsukishima, because they are really going to go outside today. They are going to ride on their horses and fight more Titans, and Tsukishima hopes that he doesn’t end up carrying people again. 

Breakfast is extended for the day, because the squad leaders have to do a preliminary checklist and so Tsukishima finishes his food with a half hour to spare. He thinks he could use his free time to irritate Kageyama, and smiles internally, because that sounds like a wonderful idea. 

He leans across the table to him, needling him about how he’s gonna get to show off all his fantastic skills for the arriving Titans, and Kageyama, as expected, starts yelling back at him. 

It is fun, it is simple, and Tsukishima is inexplicably saddened at the thought of never seeing any of them again.

…

“So we’re ready?” Sugawara asks the second-in-command of their special operations squad. 

Daichi looks at Captain Shimizu for a second before answering, “Yeah, we’re all set to go.” 

Sugawara smiles, it is a happy smile, but Daichi can see the sadness in his eyes. The first expedition after graduation is the worst always, because over the next two days at least half of the new kids are going to die. 

It’s the first expedition, really, that always shows who will be the best soldiers, and who will fall prey to the Titans sooner, rather than later. 

They really haven’t had any prodigies join up recently, since Kenma Kozume joined Squad Nekoma a few years ago. 

The soldiers have been strong, but Daichi can’t die in peace until he knows that the Survey Corps he’s worked so hard in, and defended so many times is left in good hands. 

But of course, Daichi is too young to die, he wants to be Commander before he falls to the Titans. 

He is jolted back to the time when he hears Morisuke and Sugawara smiling and talking easily as the three of them walk back to the castle. He passes the time until the time to set out comes, with the three of them and Squad Nekoma eating breakfast. 

Things are normal, there is nothing different about their words, but Daichi can see under the smiles passed around that there is a very real worry that some of them will not be there next week. 

And Daichi usually doesn’t believe in a higher power, but he prays with all his might that his friends aren’t the ones who die in the coming expedition. 

…

Hinata loves riding horses. 

It’s not an uncommon thing, most of the trainees love the horses with the only exception being Tsukishima.

He loves the feeling of the horse moving under him, and holding the leather reins in his hands, and the fields moving quickly around him. 

They are on flat terrain, there several hills in the distance, but no trees in sight. Technically, Hinata knows that they are at a disadvantage if any Titans attack them, especially if any deviants appear, but he cannot bring himself to care. 

He is part of the perimeter guard, and he has the appropriate flare guns lined up in his saddlebags. 

His team leader had said earlier to stay alert, since it was their job to kill any incoming Titans before they got too close to the center flank, where Captain Shimizu and Vice Commander Ushijima were riding. 

For this expedition, they were the high priority people, being the only two scientists on the team. Hinata would continue musing about them but a Titan has appeared outside of their guard. Yachi sees it first, and the flare shoots into the sky. 

Their team leader shouts at them to not do anything, because it is not a deviant, just a mindless monster roaming the hills. 

Several other red flares go up into the air, and Hinata is watching for the signal from Commander Ushijima, the one that says what direction that the group will take now. 

He must have missed it, since the team leader yells out the direction change, and Hinata scrambles to change the direction. 

They are riding as fast as before, trying to outrun the Titan from before, and it is not long until they lose sight of the Titan completely. 

Over the next four hours there are seven direction changes, and Hinata knows they are very, very lucky to not have encountered any deviants. 

Back in class they were taught the odds of running into deviants, and he is surprised that they haven’t yet. 

He can see the forest coming into view, tall cedar trees and there is no end in sight. 

Hinata thinks it will take another another two hours to reach the forest and tries to guess how many extra hours of riding will be added to the trip because of wayward Titans. 

He is still futilely trying to calculate how many Titans will come in their way based upon the last four hours, and just as he remembers how much he hates math, he can hear yells. 

He looks over and he feels frozen to his horse as he sees a Titan, 12 meters probably, the rational part of his mind thinks, and for a second he wonders why he is so afraid. 

But then he realizes that the particular Titan is not quite like the others, because there is something about it, maybe the tongue hanging limply out of its mouth, or its long spindly arms, but it is something, and Hinata realizes that it is a deviant. 

There were not many deviants in the fall of the Wall, and those that were there were taken care of the Garrison. Hinata had only killed normal, mindless Titans before, and the sight of the clearly intelligent Titan has him shaking in his bones. 

Dimly he can hear words, someone is yelling for a flare, and Hinata takes his out quickly and fires it into the air. 

Horrified, he can only watch as his squad leader tries to attack the Titan, and is kicked out of the way, rolling off his horse and lying limply on the ground. The Titan is running now, its feet are still moving, it is going awfully fast. 

Yachi screams and he realizes that he is about two second from getting stepped on.

There is not enough time to change directions with horse, instead he can only jump off the horse as fast as he can and roll to the ground. 

The Titan does not notice him, busy kicking his horse and Hinata watches as it runs through the formation, and his heart is beating out of his throat, as he sees his dead squad leader and realizes that he could be dead right now too. 

He could’ve not jumped and be lying dead in the grass. 

Regaining the feeling in his arms, he pushes himself up, and stands on his feet and thanks his lucky stars that he practiced hitting the ground roughly during all those races with Kageyama.

Kageyama! Kageyama was close to the center of the group, he could have been on one of those horses.

Logically, he knows Kageyama is too strong to die like that, but he is not being logical at the moment, he is panicking since he has so many friends and he doesn’t want them to die, and most of all he does not want Kageyama to die!

But the more pressing concern was the fact that the formation was quite clearly broken, and he didn’t have a horse. 

…

When Kageyama sees the deviant Titan his first thought is, ‘That’s a weird looking tongue.’ 

Then he realizes it is a deviant heading from the side that Hinata is stationed at and his next thought is, ‘What the hell happened to Hinata?’ 

There is no time to fret over the orange haired boy though, since the Titan is heading straight towards them and Kageyama does not want to be kicked out of its way as it continues hunting for the second. 

He knows from the plans his squad leader discussed with him that upon the arrival of a deviant, one of the senior squads, such as Squad Nekoma or Squad Fukurodani, but they’re not there at the moment and Kageyama has a very real fear that more people are going to die, and that Hinata may already be dead. 

Hinata may already be dead. 

Hinata may already be dead because he may already have been killed by the Titan coming towards him. 

The Titan is coming towards him. 

The Titan that could’ve killed Hinata is coming straight at him. 

His vision goes red.

…

Kuroo is riding towards the appearance of the deviant, with Kenma and Lev beside him. 

The deviants are the senior squad’s problem, the perimeter guards are not skilled enough to handle it, especially in the particular area, where they’re so hindered. 

It is coming into clearer view now, and Kuroo estimates it will be about three minutes before they meet, and his team can launch into action. 

The formation is very broken by this point, probably unsalvageable because Kuroo sees that it brought friends. 

The three other Titans are about the height of the deviant, maybe two or three meters and he estimates that there’s a fifty percent chance that one of the perimeter squads can deal with them. 

Currently the biggest priority is the deviant. Kuroo knows it must be dispatched before they can handle any of the other Titans. 

And then quite suddenly his mind is stopped in its tracks. 

There is something, no someone there, moving almost too fast for Kuroo to see. 

And that someone is killing the Titan in one of the fastest, most textbook-like ways Kuroo has ever seen. 

His eyes widen as he can see the figure first slice an ankle joint, and then just as quickly both knees give out underneath the Titan. 

The figure then launches itself at the shoulder joints, rendering it incapable of moving its arms and then goes and takes out an eye. 

The Titan roars in pain and Kuroo can barely believe what he is seeing. 

The soldier then circles around the head, using a twisting maneuver, and cuts a clean slice out of the Titan’s nape. 

All of that happened in under two minutes. 

Kuroo thinks he may be hallucinating. 

…

When Tsukishima sees the deviant approaching him, his only thought is, ‘It’s a shame I didn’t eat that extra piece of bread this morning because I’m never going to taste bread again since I’m going to die right now.’ 

He notices also out of the corner of his that there are more Titans approaching, and he really starts to regret his decision to not eat as much as he could this morning. 

The Titan is right in front of him and he tries to urge his horse away, pulling just a little frantically at the reins. He knew his horse was good with Titans, but still, he needed to pull it away as far as possible. 

It is overreacting for some reason, and this really shouldn’t be happening right now, what even was his life? 

And then in the next moment, he is in the air. 

His horse, Frederick, runs off as soon as Tsukishima hits the ground, and he vehemently curses Frederick and Frederick's parents as he looks up, and holy shit the Titan is right in front of him and he knows that if he had just eaten that bread this morning everything would be okay and oh my god it is huge and-

Someone is flying in the air dangerously close to Tsukishima and he can't quite tell who the soldier is, it's a bit too fast and Tsukishima is still dazed, but he think he kind of recognizes the figure. 

He almost doesn’t believe it at first, but he recognizes the style of moving from the fall of the Wall, and can almost see the trademark frown of the King. 

Kageyama, that’s Kageyama going through the air, killing a deviant Titan for the first time in under two minutes. 

Tsukishima really laments his lost bread as he scrambles out of the way of the Titan's corpse collapsing to the ground. 

…

Kuroo can see that many of the soldiers have shaken off the surprise and have begun to fight. The dark-haired soldier from before has taken down another Titan solo, and is moving onto the next. 

He can see that some team members are still moving in formation, and he is grateful that at least some part of their original plan will work. 

All the squad leaders know to keep moving in formation, all he needs to do is round up the ones still fighting. 

Before he can articulate his thoughts, Kenma has fired a blue flare into the air, the signal for retreat. 

The deviant is dead, and the only remaining are normal Titans. Kuroo, and Kenma, know that time should not be wasted killing the Titans, and the Lone Ranger needs to get down. There are corpses littering the ground and no horses in sight, and Kuroo knows that Squad Nekoma will have to share horses with the soldier. 

The soldiers have seen the order to retreat, and most of them have doubled up on the remaining horses, and have begun to ride in the direction the other soldiers are going. 

The soldier has seen the order to retreat, and has landed a safe distance away from the Titan. Kuroo nearly does a double take when he sees that there are soldiers without a horse on the ground and hopes they will not have to leave any of the living soldiers behind. 

He urges his horse forward towards the group of soldiers who have now started running on foot away from the Titans still coming behind them. Kuroo reaches them as fast as he can and holds out his arm for the one in front to grab.

He is scowling and there is dirt in blonde hair, but he takes the arm as soon as it is offered and they are on their way to rejoin the formation in under a minute. 

The Lone Ranger is riding behind Kenma, and Kuroo thinks he doesn't look as impressive as expected. 

He is tall, but shorter than Kuroo, and he has no defining features and his hair is nothing special, but there is a sort of look about him, Kuroo thinks. 

Something a little dangerous, and more than a little crazed. 

Kuroo may be happy that they are alive but he really was looking forward to the chance to fight the deviant and get a break from riding his goddamn horse. 

…

Hinata is still in shock. 

Yachi picked him up, and he is riding behind her. Another team leader shouted at them to follow, and they joined his team. The formation is a bit scrambled, but Hinata is no longer afraid of it breaking. 

Survey Corps is stronger than that.

After they joined a team, they rode the far way around the deviant type Titan, but while they were riding, Hinata saw someone single-handedly take it down. 

Usually, Hinata would just be admiring the flawless kill, but he recognized the style from countless training sessions and Trost. 

That was Kageyama. His best friend single handedly took out a 15 meter tall deviant Titan. 

Holy shit. 

...

Tsukishima wants to say something, he really does, to Kageyama about his recent accomplishment. 

It actually kind of itches at him to not say something, but he doesn’t think it would be wise to do so in front of their higher-ups. 

Besides, Kageyama is looking extremely unstable, and Tsukishima doesn’t want to risk unbalancing that glint in his eyes. 

Don’t want Kageyama going off the deep end, after all. 

He tries to focus on something else, and decides to look at the soldiers who saved them. 

There is Lev Haiba, a tall grey haired man whose eyes are just slightly creepy, and behind him is Onaga, who Tsukishima recognizes as one of the trainees. 

Then there is Kozume Kenma, who is in front of Kageyama, with dyed blonde hair and a deadpan expression. 

Tsukishima had heard that he was one of the best tacticians in the Corps, and he certainly doesn’t look it, with his short stature and half-lidded eyes. 

And then in front of Tsukishima is the man himself, the Squad Leader, Tetsurou Kuroo. His hair is as ridiculous as Tsukishima remembers from the dining hall, and he is about two centimeters shorter than Tsukishima. 

Tsukishima has to appreciate them for saving him, but he really hates being indebted to them. There is something about owing anything to the man in front of him that really irritates him. 

Maybe it’s the stupid hair.

…

They are sitting in the trees now, the trees that Squad Leader Kuroo has led them to. 

The sun is starting to set, and everything is glowing in the soft light, and Kageyama can’t help but think about how beautiful the sunset really is. 

Because it is, it is probably the most beautiful thing Kageyama has ever seen, but he can think of something he’d rather see. 

Something he would give anything to see again. 

Someone. 

Hinata would love this sunset, Kageyama thinks, he’d love to be outside and see the sun set without having giant walls in the way of the light. 

And Kageyama just wants him to see, wants to give anything to have Hinata beside him and making some sort of dumb expression at the sun setting behind the hills. 

He would give anything to have his best friend besides him. 

Anything at all. 

Kageyama can feel something building in his stomach, something explosive, and he wants to save the tears. 

Save it for some other time, when he is alone in the barracks and he can scream and sob as much as he can. 

Because right now he has a job to do. 

The Titans are climbing at the trees, and Onaga is crouching besides him, and Tsukishima is on a branch on the other side of the tree. 

They are just watching, watching the Titans futilely attempt to climb the trees, and Kageyama wants nothing more than to attack them, to destroy them all, and scream out to the world for Hinata. 

But there are orders, and if Kageyama has learned one thing from the Battle of Trost, he has learned that there is a plan that should be followed. 

Back then, it was Tsukishima’s plan that got the five of them out of the district and safely on the other side of the wall. It was important to give up his pride and just listen. 

And he knows there is a bigger plan going on at the moment, he knows he needs to follow it, and that means following orders, despite how much he just wants to destroy the Titans in front of him. 

Darkness settles over them quickly, and Kageyama wonders just how long it will be until the Titans will stop moving, stop clawing at the trees. 

It is over an hour later, apparently, when the Titans begin to fall sluggishly to the ground. 

Despite all the Titans losing power, Kageyama notices one, a tiny seven-meter get on to the forest path. 

Onaga nods at him, and they both ready themselves to jump in, before a voice halts them. 

“Wait,” It is Kozume Kenma, who is on the tree besides them. “Let this one enter.” 

Kageyama is confused but he does as he’s told and he and Onaga stand down, allowing the Titan to wander farther into the forest path. 

He glances questioningly at Kenma, and Tsukishima asks from his perch on the branch, “And exactly why are we letting this Titan get close to our supplies and food?” 

Kenma doesn’t bother dignifying the query with a response, and they are back to silence once again, standing on guard until the sun graces them with its presence at dawn. 

…

They are to ride back at dawn. 

Hinata isn’t tired yet, not in the slightest, but he is feeling slightly hungry. 

Yachi has closed her eyes, and Hinata hopes she hasn’t fallen asleep while standing. 

Their commanding officers have told them to stand vigilant all night, and Hinata, unlike most of the trainees who are looking sour, has enjoyed it. 

He didn’t enjoy standing still, or the fact there was no food, but he loves the feeling of being outside.

It is his favorite feeling. 

The wind is blowing softly through his hair and he can feel the coldness on his body, under his yellow shirt and jacket. 

He hasn’t touched his blades and has instead just watched the world. 

The stars are clearer here, and there is more beauty in the hills, and even despite the numerous Titans at the trees under him, he feels at peace. 

This is the reason he joined the Survey Corps, this is the reason he has devoted his life to the war against Titans. 

The world is beautiful, and Hinata wants nothing more than to be a bigger part of it. 

….

It is the hour before dawn when someone comes to them, zipping through the forest on 3DMG. Tsukishima sees him speaking with Kenma, and before leaving, he leaves a bag and then goes back through the forest the way he came. 

Everyone around them, about 15 soldiers are looking at Kenma expectantly, waiting for the dyed blonde officer to say something. 

First thing he does is open the sack, and he calls the soldiers up one by one, and when it is Tsukishima’s turn, he can see that Kenma is passing out loaves of bread. 

Finally it seems that it is time for the soldiers to be fed. 

Soon enough, everyone is sitting on the branch, chewing through the bread, and Tsukishima tries to savor his food before swallowing. 

It is a blessing he is alive to eat this bread after all. 

Kenma waits to finish his own piece of bread before he announces quietly, “The 112th expedition of the Survey Corps has been pronounced a success by Commander Ushijima.” 

Cheers go up, people are celebrating each other on a job well done, and someone has even begun to dance around. 

Tsukishima eyes them distastefully, before he congratulating himself in his mind, and taking another bite of bread. 

The next challenge though is if they can reach the Wall alive. 

Dawn is coming soon enough, and they need to survive the next journey. 

It will be time before they can really celebrate. 

…

Hinata is kind of surprised. 

They had arrived back at the wall with few mishaps, there were several more Titan attacks, and they had to stop often to collect bodies of soldiers littering the path. 

But still, they had successfully captured a Titan and brought it back to be analyzed and studied. 

Hinata had barely disembarked his horse and had begun to search for Kageyama before Kageyama himself had ran straight into him, almost barrelling him over. 

Hinata wonders what he did wrong, before he realizes that Kageyama is hugging him tightly, and he can feel a small wetness on his shoulders. 

Was Kageyama crying? 

What the hell? 

He voices his thoughts and Kageyama mutters a, “Thought you were dead, dumbass.” 

Hinata thinks he understands now. 

Kageyama had probably thought he was killed on the expedition, he did have a close encounter with the deviant, and probably had thought he was dead for the whole trip back. 

He brings his arms slowly around Kageyama, patting his back a little awkwardly, before saying, “I’m right here, Kageyama. But I might not be if you keep squeezing me so tightly.” 

Kageyama doesn’t let up, and they stand like that for a minute, and Hinata makes no move to pull away, because Kageyama is his best friend in the whole world and it must’ve been terrible for him to think he was dead. 

Hell, if he thought Kageyama was dead he’d be holding on to him like there was no tomorrow. 

Besides, it felt kind of nice to be hugging someone again, there is something comforting about the warmth of another body. 

No one had hugged him since his mother all those years ago, and Hinata understands then how much he missed the feeling. 

Of course the moment is broken when they both hear Tsukishima snicker, “Cute.” 

Kageyama pulls away, and Hinata feels kind of lost, before he regains himself and starts yelling quite excitedly about his encounter with the deviant titan. 

Yachi interjects from time to time, and Kageyama and Tsukishima listen quietly as they head back to the castle, except sometimes Tsukishima interjects with some sort of rude comment, and Hinata gets angry. 

They are alive and that is all that matters, really.

....

Hinata learns that his team leader, Obara, was killed in the expedition along with the other person in their team, Kawanishi. 

Hinata didn’t know them very well, but he had liked Obara. He was kind, and tried to make him feel welcome during training. 

The more pressing concern was where they were going next. 

One of the other soldiers who was in his team told them that they would be getting another leader soon. Someone probably was going to get promoted off another team to take lead of their own. 

Hinata hoped whoever was going to join them was nice, and wasn’t going to die. 

Hinata didn’t want more people to die.

….

They were spending the day in the field outside the castle that day. Training had started up again, and most of the days were spent either cleaning the castle or practicing for the next expedition. It was hot and it was tiring, and Kageyama enjoyed every second of it. 

Training was the most important they did, after all. Nothing they learned as students mattered anymore, since the real training often happened under Sugawara or Daichi, who would give them helpful tips on the gear. 

Being out in the field required every soldier to be the best, and even though Kageyama was ranked #1 in the trainees, he still trained everyday and took every advice to the heart. 

When he was younger, he had gone to the same school with Kindaichi and Kunimi inside Wall Rose. They had teased him, about his permanent scowl, and his mentality that he was the best. Even back then they had the dreams of being a soldier, and it would make sense they would get along, but even in playing kick the ball in the yard would make Kageyama unhappy. 

They would always call him ‘King of Field,’ in regards to how he would always take command of the game and in their early teens they would talk about how he was ‘King of the Battlefield’ as well. 

It irritated Kageyama the way they would talk like he would become commander within the first week, because he was the King. 

He never wanted to be King. 

All he wanted to be was a soldier. 

And Hinata gave him that, he gave him a reason to keep fighting, to ignore the insults, to keep training, to become someone outside of a King. 

They sit in the grass and Yachi is panicking about her training, and Hinata is trying to cheer her up, and Tsukishima isn’t helping her at all, Kageyama think that finally, he has become the soldier he has always wanted to be. 

A soldier that saves people.

…

His eyes roamed the situation, quietly assessing the incoming Titan and the surrounding trees before he launches himself up, blades ready. 

Tsukishima prizes himself on his control, he reaches the target without overusing gas, and no unnecessary movements, unlike others who twist and spin through the air. 

His technique is not as visually striking as other soldiers’, but it is fast and it works. 

The Titan is swinging around its arms, and Tsukishima knows it’s too dangerous to go near the upper body. His skills on the 3DMG were great, he got top marks on his control and finesse, but he was never very good with his blades, so he always went straight for the neck. He wasn’t as good as cutting tendons, since the blades were hard to control, so he avoided that method of attack as much as possible.

This time though, he knew he had to stop the Titan, and go towards either the Achilles tendon or hit the knees. 

Most people didn’t really realize how disadvantaged a person of his height was on the 3DMG. A shorter body meant there was much more room for control, and keeping his balance was the biggest challenge for Tsukishima. He always wanted to look in control, so he tended to not do any unnecessary movement, even if it would help his speed. 

Tsukishima loops around the Titan, aiming for its right knee, and he angles his blades to take a clean slice out of the muscle. The wire he is suspended on goes slack, and his eyes widen in the implications of what that meant. 

He looks up and sees his fears confirmed, the Titan’s long arms have grabbed onto the wire and Tsukishima can’t do anything as he is thrown against a tree. He clenches his fingers to send out another wire to prevent him from hitting the ground but to his ever-growing horror, the machine appears to be broken. 

He lands hard against the tree, sliding down to his feet, and he can sense the large bruise forming on his back. Tsukishima immediately gets into a defensive position, with the blades raised in front of him protectively. 

His eyes are completely steady, and he pushes himself to think, but the Titan is moving closer and Tsukishima can’t see anyway out of this. 

This is it, for him then. 

He thinks of his mother, and his brother at home, waiting for him, and he feels the faintest glimmer of sadness. They would be heartbroken, and wouldn’t even have a corpse for him since he’d be in a pile of Titan vomit. 

The thought makes him sick. 

The Titan leaning its ugly face towards him is going to eat him alive. Well maybe not alive, he thinks, staring down at the blades in his hands. 

No, no he won’t do that. He still has his pride, and he’ll fight till the end. The Titan is looming even closer and-

And it falls to the ground. 

Standing on the dead Titan’s smoking head is Squad Leader Kuroo, holding blood-stained blades. 

Kuroo stretches out his hand to him, and Tsukishima looks at it for only a moment before turning it aside and climbing over the Titan himself. 

They are both on the Titan now, staring at each other, and Kuroo is smirking. 

Tsukishima decides he really does hate that smirk before he salutes and turns around to quickly get to the nearest corpse. He knows what to do in this type of situation, he needs to replace his equipment fast. 

He hopes Kuroo knows what he is doing, and Tsukishima can hear him quickly disposing of the Titan’s coming near him, not leaving the area. 

He tries not to grimace at the blood-stained 3DMG as he quickly sends a wire towards the nearest tree and moves to find more Titans to kill. 

He turns his head for just a second and sees Kuroo right behind him, matching his pace easily. Tsukishima squashes his growing irritation before he spots a 15 meter, and loops around it, aiming for its eyes. 

He then kicks off of the Titan’s nose at the last moment and flips over the head, baring his blades for an attack. 

When he jumps off the falling Titan, he sees Kuroo standing on a branch, watching him with his stupid smirk. 

He really does have ridiculous hair.  
….  
Yachi yells as she twists in the air, going straight towards the nape of the Titan, and uses the momentum of the falling Titan to latch onto another Titan and spin as she takes a slice out of it. 

Fighting is infinitely easier when there are buildings around for her 3DMG. 

She lands on the roof, looking for the next target, and sees a Titan, at least 12 meters tall. She runs, and jumps, cutting down the Achilles heel, and moving upwards to hit the knee. 

She is about to run over the Titan when she sees Squad Leader Shimizu swoop in front of her, and deliver the finishing blow.

Shimizu turns back towards her, and Yachi tries to salute, but already Shimizu is zooming away. 

Yachi stares at her speed, before setting her 3DMG on the next target which, coincidentally, is the same one Shimizu is fighting. 

Two weeks later, she is promoted to Squad Shimizu. 

…

TBC

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 coming soon


End file.
